Just six months ago, the AOLnet comprised fewer than 25,000 modems; now there are more than 100,000 spread among more than 400 cities throughout the United States. Not surprisingly, this has brought a demand for more people, with the result that the total workforce has tripled to nearly 5,000 over the past year. The fledgling European operation - launched earlier this year as a joint venture with the global media group Bertelsmann - has, of course, yet to reach such dizzy heights. But, as corporate communications director Judith Coley explains, it is definitely on the lookout for talent.And not all would-be candidates have to be computer nuts. A heady reprise of "We We" closed an altogether overwhelming experience.ROY BARTHOLOMEW. Anybody in doubt about the growth of the information technology industry need look no further than the just published latest results from America Online. Although she indulged in a spot of preachiness, comparing the pressures of modern living to the charming simplicity of village life, she quickly redeemed herself by crooning "Fifa", the title track on the new release Later, she even coaxed the audience into singing a cappella.

The company, which describes itself as "the world's largest and fastest-growing interactive electronic community", reported that revenues for the three months to the end of March rose to a record $312.3m - more than 185 per cent up on the same period in the previous year. Others, like the gospel-infused "Welcome" and, half-drowned in percussion, "The Sound of the Drums", were simply tiresome. Luckily, at times like these, Nyakam, like some dreadlocked lord of misrule, brought verve and interest to the stage. Naked except for what looked like a designer tutu, his face painted white with blue eyeshadow and black-coated lips, he fought playfully with Kidjo for the attention of the crowd. Later, accompanying her on "Shango", a fiendishly rhythmic blend of fuji and jungle, he resembled a Haitian obeah-man, twirling like a dervish in a multi-coloured sheet.Kidjo, no slouch herself, is a supple-jointed bundle of energy, and on fail-safe dancefloor-crammers like "We We" (pronounced way way), "Lon Lon Vadro" ("Come, come my love") and "Agolo", her first big European hit, she willed the faithful out of their seats and into the aisles.